Senate rejects border security plan

Sen. Chuck Schumer said that the plan will 'undo the entire theme and structure' of the bill. | AP Photo

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) is working on those discussions that seek to beef up border security, e-verify and entry-exit visa program language while not turning off Democrats.

“I believe that ultimately we’ll get to a place that satisfies both the Republican concerns for results and the Democrats’ concerns that the goalpost get moved,” Corker told POLITICO. “I want to be able to go back home to Tennessee and tell folks that I voted for a bill that solved the problem.”

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Corker estimated negotiations over finding a middle ground on something in between the Cornyn amendment and the Gang bill “might take another week or so.”

“Everybody understands the sensibilities that each side has and I think there’s earnest effort to overcome and try to get to that, for lack of a better word, sweet spot,” Corker explained.

Closely monitoring and weighing in on the Republican talks is Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who called altering the underlying Gang of Eight a “delicate undertaking.” Durbin sounded less optimistic than Corker on Thursday as senators began racing to their flights home for the weekend.

“Many of us are concerned about the change. We want to make sure that it’s still consistent with our promise that people will not have an unreasonable obstacle to citizenship. So the conversation continues,” Durbin said in an interview. “I don’t know if we can do it. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Graham wants the ultimate plan to be deficit-neutral, particularly if they add extra investments along the border. He said there’s “room to move” between the bill as written now, and a plan that could bring more GOP votes.

“We’re trying to find a middle ground between the two,” McCain said. “The biggest impact on House Republicans is the size of the vote in the Senate. So our job is to get as big as a vote as possible.”